The present invention relates to a knitting method for forming a neckline in knitwear, such as a vest and a sweater, knitted by using a flat knitting machine and to the knitwear knitted in the same knitting method.
In a conventional knitting method, when e.g. a vest is knitted by using a flat knitting machine, a neckline formed in the front body and a neckline in the back body are formed with the same number of needles. The neckline usually has an eguri called xe2x80x9ca dropxe2x80x9d which is formed in accordance with the shape of the neckline in wearing condition. The eguri formed in the front body is called xe2x80x9cthe front dropxe2x80x9d. Generally, the front drop is formed in such a process that when the front body is knitted, right and left sides of the neckline are knitted in the flechage knitting so as to form the eguri before forming a collar, followed by the forming of the collar. In this general process, the knitting width of the collar (number of wale) is not different than before forming the neckline in the flechage knitting and, as a result of this, the collar comes to be tight and accordingly the front drop does not have a sufficient depth.
The applicant of this application previously proposed in Japanese Laid-open (Unexamined) Patent Publication No. Hei 4(1992)-214448 a knitting method of knitting a knitted fabric by using a flat knitting machine wherein the neckline in the front body is widened and also the front drop is formed in the neckline. In this knitting method, the front body is so knitted as to be forked from a starting point for the neckline to be formed into a right front body and a left front body which confront each other across the neckline. In the process of the knitting, widening stitches are formed around the neckline and also the stitches at the right-hand side and left-hand side are shifted to the outside, respectively. This knitting process is repeated to knit the front body up to the shoulder portion. As a result of the neckline being formed in this manner, the number of wale of the neckline is increased and, as a result of this, not only the collar knitted subsequent thereto is widened but also the front drop is formed in the neckline. When the front body thus knitted is used to produce a sweater, the knitwear comes to be fancy and stylish and so comfortable to wear that when wearing, one""s head can smoothly pass through the neckline.
Shown in FIG. 12 is the front body 101 forming therein the collar 100 comprising a flat portion X-Y and oblique portions W-X and Y-Z at both sides of the flat portion. The flat portion X-Y of the front collar 100 has the relationship of T1=T2 between the peripheral length (T2) of the flat portion X-Y and the number of wale (T1) of the flat portion X-Y. This indicates that the number of wale in the flat portion X-Y is well reserved for the peripheral length (T2) of the collar formed. On the other hand, the oblique portions W-X and Y-Z have the relationship of S1 less than S2, U1 less than U2 between the peripheral length (S2, U2) and the number of wale (S1, U1) of the oblique portions W-X and Y-Z, respectively. This indicates that the number of wale in the oblique portions W-X and Y-Z are not well reserved for the peripheral lengths of the collar formed. When the oblique portions W-X and Y-Z are short of the number of wale like this, the flat portion X-Y is transversely stretched out and raised up by the oblique portions W-X and Y-Z, so that the front drop is not so formed as to have a sufficient depth. As a result of this, the peripheral length of the actually knitted collar becomes S1+T1+U1 shorter than an anticipated peripheral length S2+T2+U2, so that a collar opening is not so formed as to have a sufficient diameter.
In the light of the drawback mentioned above, the present invention has been made. The present invention aims to disclose a knitting method of knitting knitwear having a drop formed to have a sufficient depth that is comfortable to wear and stylish, and knitwear having such a collar formed therein.
In order to accomplish the object mentioned above, the present invention provides a method of knitting a neck portion of knitwear comprising a front body, a back body and a collar of the front body and/or a collar the back body by using a flat knitting machine comprising at least a pair of front and back needle beds, at least either of which can be racked laterally to transfer stitches between the needles beds, wherein the knitwear is knitted from its bottom hem to its shoulder, during which a flechage knitting that the body is knitted so as to be forked into a right side and a left side from a starting point for the neckline to be formed and also the stitches around the neckline are sequentially removed from the knitting to be put into inoperative states is repeated a predetermined number of times, so as to form the neckline, followed by the forming of the collar around the neckline, the method comprising the step that the knitting that stitches of the neckline at right and left sides thereof including its oblique portions and its flat portions adjacent to the oblique portions are moved toward a center of the neckline, so that empty needles are provided in the oblique portions and also double stitches are formed in the flat portions and, thereafter, new stitches are formed at the empty needles in the next knitting of the collar and also stitches of the next course are formed at the double stitches is provided in each of the right side of the neckline and the left side of the neckline.
In the method of knitting the neck portion of knitwear, the knitwear knitted is a fabric whose front body and back body are knitted in layers in front and back into a tubular form and wherein the knitting that after the front body and the back body are joined together at the shoulder, the empty needles are provided in the oblique portions of the neckline and also the double stitches are formed in the flat portions and then the new stitches are formed at the empty needles in the next knitting of the collar and also the stitches of the next course are formed at the double stitches is provided in the neckline.
Further, in the method of knitting the neck portion of knitwear, it is preferable that while the stitches of the neckline retained on one of the needle beds are sequentially fed from the one located outside to an outside of the neckline retained on the opposite needle bed, the empty needles are provided therein to increase the number of wale of the neckline.
Also, the present invention provides knitwear, such as a vest or a sweater, wherein a neckline is so knitted as to be forked into a right side and a left side from a starting point for the neckline to be formed in the knitwear; a group of stitches in two adjacent regions at a boundary between a collar and the neckline are moved toward a center of the neckline to be close to each other; and the collar is formed continuously to new stitches formed in the space produced by the movement of the group of stitches and double stitches produced by the movement of the group of stitches.
According to the present invention, when a knitwear, such as a vest and a sweater, is knitted, a flechage knitting that for example the front body is knitted so as to be forked into a right front body and a left front body from a starting point for the neckline to be formed and also the stitches around the neckline are put into inoperative states from a center portion thereof to the outside, with the stitches retained by the needles, is repeated. As a result of this knitting, an increased number of courses are provided at the outside of the neckline, as compared with the number of knitting courses at the center portion of the neckline, and as a result of this, the neckline is formed into such a circular shape having a long depth at a center portion thereof and a short width at an outside thereof and also the right front body and the left front body are formed.
Sequentially, in order to supplement the number of wale to the peripheral length of the neckline, the following steps are taken. A group of stitches in the oblique portions and the flat portions are transferred to the opposed needle bed. Then, while the needle bed is racked toward the center of the neckline, the stitches as were transferred to the opposed needle bed are transferred back to the original needle bed. At this time, each time the racking pitch is increased in one pitch, two pitches, . . . , an adequate number of stitches are transferred back to the original needle bed. As a result of the stitches being transferred back to the original needle bed, while the needle bed is racked toward the center of the neckline, the empty needles are provided in the oblique portions of the neckline requiring the supplement of the number of wale and also the double stitches are formed by the stitches in the flat portions adjacent to the oblique portions being laid over each other.
Sequentially, the same knitting is symmetrically provided in the opposite side to said side across the center of the neckline, whereby the double stitches and the empty needles are provided in the same manner. As a result of this, the new stitches are formed at the empty needles provided in the oblique portions and thus the number of wale of the oblique portions is increased and also the stitches of the next course are formed at the double stitches in the flat portion and thus the number of wale of the flat portion is decreased. Thereafter, the yarn is fed to all regions of the neckline to form the collar.
It should be noted that when the fabric to be knitted is the fabric whose front body and back body are overlapped in layers in front and back and formed into a tubular form, the back body is knitted in parallel with the knitting of the front body and is joined to sleeves at its joining portion to the sleeves whenever the back body is knitted in the same manner as in the front body. After completion of the joining of the sleeves and the bodies, the front body and the back body are joined together at the shoulder. When the total number of wale of the neckline becomes shorter for the peripheral length of the neckline formed, for example the knitting to provide an increased number of wale of the front neckline is performed so that the stitches at the right side and left side of the neckline are shifted from inside to outside, with the gradually increasing distances of a stitch of distance, two stitches of distance, . . . from their respective preexistent positions, so as to insert the empty needles in between the adjacent stitches. When the empty needles are inserted in between the adjacent stitches, the stitches at each end of the front neckline should be fed to the outside of the stitch at each end of the back neckline formed in the back body, to feed the stitches between the first needle bed and the second needle bed, so as to prevent the difference between the number of stitches of the neckline retained by the needles of the first needle bed and the number of stitches of the neckline retained by the needles of the second needle bed from increasing two or more. As a result of the empty needles being inserted in between the adjacent stitches to increase the total number of wale of the neckline, for supplement, there is provided the result that the neckline having a large peripheral length can be knitted to ensure the formation of the front drop having a sufficient length.